Christian Estrosi

Christian Estrosi (born 1 July 1955) is a French sportsman and politician. He is a former professional motorcyclist and Minister. He currently serves as the Mayor of Nice, and as a member of the National Assembly of France for the 5th constituency of the Alpes-Maritimes.

Biography

Early life

Christian Estrosi was born on 1 July 1955 in Nice. His grandparents were immigrants from Italy.

Career as a motorcyclist

He was a professional motorcycle racer and competed at the world championship level in Grand Prix motorcycle racing. His best result was a fourth-place finish in the 500cc 1978 French Grand Prix. He repeated the result with another fourth-place finish at the 1979 Spanish Grand Prix. He received the Youth and Sports gold medal.

Political career

He was a member of the municipal council of Nice from 1983 to 1990, when he resigned. He was re-elected in 2008, when he was also elected Mayor of Nice. In 2013, he rejected a plan to build a mosque funded by a businessman from Saudi Arabia in Nice.

Christian

A Christian ( pronunciation ) is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. "Christian" derives from the Koine Greek word Christós (Χριστός), a translation of the Biblical Hebrew term mashiach.

There are diverse interpretations of Christianity which sometimes conflict. However, "Whatever else they might disagree about, Christians are at least united in believing that Jesus has a unique significance." The term "Christian" is also used adjectivally to describe anything associated with Christianity, or in a proverbial sense "all that is noble, and good, and Christ-like." It is also used as a label to identify people who associate with the cultural aspects of Christianity, irrespective of personal religious beliefs or practices.

According to a 2011 Pew Research Center survey, there were 2.2 billion Christians around the world in 2010, up from about 600 million in 1910. By 2050, the Christian population is expected to exceed 3 billion. According to a 2012 Pew Research Center survey Christianity will remain the world's largest religion in 2050, if current trends continue.

Emmanuel Macron

Emmanuel Macron (born 21 December 1977 in Amiens) is a French senior official, politician and former investment banker. On 26 August 2014 he was appointed as the Minister of Economy, Industry and Digital Affairs in the Second Valls Government.

Early life and education

Macron is the son of Jean-Michel Macron, Professor of Neurology at the University of Picardy, and Françoise Macron-Noguès, MD. He was close to his grandmother, a school headmistress who had grown up in an illiterate household, and lived with her for some time. He studied piano for ten years.

He was educated for some years at the Jesuit-founded lycée La Providence in Amiens before he continued at the élite high school Lycée Henri-IV in Paris. He studied Philosophy at the University of Paris-Ouest Nanterre La Défense, obtaining a DEA degree. He worked as an assistant for Paul Ricoeur between 1999 and 2001 where he helped edit Ricoeur's book La Mémoire, l'histoire, l'oubli. He also obtained a degree in Public Affairs at Sciences Po, before training for a senior civil service career at the École nationale d'administration (ENA), graduating in 2004.

François Fillon

François Charles Amand Fillon (French pronunciation: ​[fʁɑ̃.swa ʃaʁl amɑ̃ fi.jɔ̃]; born 4 March 1954) is a French lawyer and politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 17 May 2007 to 16 May 2012. He was appointed by President Nicolas Sarkozy on 17 May 2007. As a member of the UMP, Fillon became Jean-Pierre Raffarin's Minister of Labour in 2002 and undertook controversial reforms of the 35-hour working week law and of the French retirement system.

Fillon became Minister of National Education in 2004 and proposed the much debated Fillon law on Education. In 2005, he was not included in the new government headed by Dominique de Villepin, but was elected Senator for the Sarthe Département. His role as a political advisor in Nicolas Sarkozy's successful race for President led to his becoming Prime Minister. Fillon resigned upon Sarkozy's defeat to François Hollande in the 2012 presidential elections. In 2013 during a visit in Russia, Fillon criticized the French government led by Francois Hollande for its support to a military intervention in Syria.